Juthika being taken to the Englishbazar police station on Sunday. Picture by Surajit Roy

Malda, April 28: The managing director of a fraud investment firm was detained by Englishbazar police this morning after over 200 agents and depositors demonstrated in front of her house demanding their money.

Juthika Roy, 45, is the wife of a railway employee.

Around 9am today, the agents and depositors of Vigil International NBF Limited went to Mainak Apartments building on Station Road where Juthika stayed and tried to force their way in.

The investors alleged that they had deposited money in a scheme called Magic 20 that promised a monthly interest of Rs 3,000 for every Rs 1 lakh invested in the company for a year, which works out to a simple interest of 36 per cent per annum.

After a year, the depositors would get back the amount or they could re-invest. But many depositors stopped getting the monthly interest since January and the company’s office has been shut since March.

Police sources said Vigil International started operating from Rabindra Avenue here in the beginning of 2011.

“One Assam resident Kishor Das was the chairman and the managing director of the company. Later, he made Juthika the managing director. Her husband Khagendranath, a railway welfare inspector, was also involved in the racket. Roy was not at home today when the incident happened and we believe that he has gone underground,” said a police source.

Biplab Kumar Dhar, a retired railway employee, said he had invested Rs 5 lakh from his retirement benefits in the firm in 2012.

“I invested in a scheme called Magic 20 in July 30, 2012. I was getting a return of Rs 15,000 a month till December last year. But the money stopped coming in from January this year. I visited the office many times but got no answers. In the beginning of March, the office was under lock and key,” Dhar said.

Agent Biswajit Dawn said: “I have collected over Rs 30 lakh for the company. Now I am being hounded by depositors everyday. What will I do now? I and some other agents have written to the chief minister, the district magistrate and the police superintendent. But no action has been taken.”

There were over 350 agents of the company in Malda.

“There are over 9,000 depositors and some have deposited between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh. We have deposited between Rs 40 crore and Rs 50 crore in the firm” he said.

Malda police chief Kalyan Banerjee said Juthika had been detained.

“The case is being investigated by the CID and we have informed them. It is up to the CID to make arrest. Kishor and Khagendranath are absconding.”